The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome

This is the first volume in a bold new series that tells the stories of all peoples, connecting historical events from Europe to the Middle East to the far coast of China, while still giving weight to the characteristics of each country. Susan Wise Bauer provides both sweeping scope and vivid attention to the individual lives that give flesh to abstract assertions about human history. This narrative history employs the methods of "history from beneath" - literature, epic traditions, private letters, and accounts - to connect kings and leaders with the lives of those they ruled.

Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.

Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire lasted 1,000 years, far longer than ancient Rome. Yet this formidable dominion never inspired the awe of its predecessor. Voltaire quipped that it was neither holy, Roman, nor an empire. Yet as Peter H. Wilson shows, the Holy Roman Empire tells a millennial story of Europe better than the histories of individual nation-states.

The Rise of Rome

The Roman Republic is one of the most breathtaking civilizations in world history. Between roughly 500 BCE to the turn of the millennium, a modest city-state developed an innovative system of government and expanded into far-flung territories across Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East. This powerful civilization inspired America's founding fathers, gifted us a blueprint for amazing engineering innovations, left a vital trove of myths, and has inspired the human imagination for 2,000 years.

Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician

In this dynamic and engaging biography, Anthony Everitt plunges us into the fascinating, scandal-ridden world of ancient Rome in its most glorious heyday. Accessible to us through his legendary speeches but also through an unrivaled collection of unguarded letters to his close friend Atticus, Cicero comes to life here as a witty and cunning political operator.

Medieval Europe

The millennium between the breakup of the western Roman Empire and the Reformation was a long and hugely transformative period - one not easily chronicled within a single book. Yet distinguished historian Chris Wickham has taken up the challenge in this landmark book, and he succeeds in producing the most riveting account of medieval Europe in a generation.

The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of civilization. After its founding in 509 BCE, the Romans refused to allow a single leader to seize control of the state and grab absolute power. The Roman commitment to cooperative government and peaceful transfers of power was unmatched in the history of the ancient world. But by the year 133 BCE, the republican system was unable to cope with the vast empire Rome now ruled.

Charlemagne

When the legendary Frankish king and emperor Charlemagne died in 814 he left behind a dominion and a legacy unlike anything seen in Western Europe since the fall of Rome. Johannes Fried paints a compelling portrait of a devout ruler, a violent time, and a unified kingdom that deepens our understanding of the man often called the father of Europe.

The Templars

The Knights Templar were the wealthiest, most powerful - and most secretive - of the military orders that flourished in the crusading era. Their story - encompassing as it does the greatest international conflict of the Middle Ages, a network of international finance, a swift rise in wealth and influence followed by a bloody and humiliating fall - has left a comet's tail of mystery that continues to fascinate and inspire historians, novelists and conspiracy theorists. Unabridged edition read by Dan Jones.

A Day's Read

Join three literary scholars and award-winning professors as they introduce you to dozens of short masterpieces that you can finish-and engage with-in a day or less. Perfect for people with busy lives who still want to discover-or rediscover-just how transformative an act of reading can be, these 36 lectures range from short stories of fewer than 10 pages to novellas and novels of around 200 pages. Despite their short length, these works are powerful examinations of the same subjects and themes that longer "great books" discuss.

Histories

In this, the first prose history in European civilization, Herodotus describes the growth of the Persian Empire with force, authority, and style. Perhaps most famously, the book tells the heroic tale of the Greeks' resistance to the vast invading force assembled by Xerxes, king of Persia. Here are not only the great battles - Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis - but also penetrating human insight and a powerful sense of epic destiny at work.

The History of the Renaissance World: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Conquest of Constantinople

Beginning in the heady days just after the First Crusade, this volume - the third in the series that began with The History of the Ancient World and The History of the Medieval World - chronicles the contradictions of a world in transition. Impressively researched and brilliantly told, The History of the Renaissance World offers not just the names, dates, and facts but the memorable characters who illuminate the years between 1100 and 1453 - years that marked a sea change in mankind's perception of the world.

Vindolanda

AD, 98. The bustling army base at Vindolanda lies on the northern frontier of Britannia and the entire Roman world. In just over 20 years' time, the Emperor Hadrian will build his famous wall. But for now, defences are weak as tribes rebel against Rome. It falls to Flavius Ferox, Briton and Roman centurion, to keep the peace. But it will take more than just a soldier's courage to survive life in Roman Britain.

Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities

Istanbul has always been a place where stories and histories collide and crackle, where the idea is as potent as the historical fact. From the Qu'ran to Shakespeare, this city with three names - Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul - resonates as an idea and a place and overspills its boundaries - real and imagined. Standing as the gateway between the East and West, it has served as the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin and Ottoman Empires.

The Popes: A History

Well known for his histories of Norman Sicily, Venice, the Byzantine Empire and the Mediterranean, John Julius Norwich has now turned his attention to the oldest continuing institution in the world, tracing the papal line down the centuries from St Peter himself – traditionally (though by no means historically) the first pope – to the present Benedict XVI.Of the 280-odd holders of the supreme office, some have unques­tionably been saints; others have wallowed in unspeakable iniquity.

The Habsburg Empire: A New History

Rejecting fragmented histories of nations in the making, this bold revision surveys the shared institutions that bridged difference and distance to bring stability and meaning to the far-flung empire. By supporting new schools, law courts, and railroads along with scientific and artistic advances, the Habsburg monarchs sought to anchor their authority in the cultures and economies of Central Europe. A rising standard of living throughout the empire deepened the legitimacy of Habsburg rule.

Viking Britain: An Exploration

A new narrative history of the Viking Age, interwoven with exploration of the physical remains and landscapes that the Vikings fashioned and walked: their rune stones and ship burials, settlements and battlefields. To many, the word Viking brings to mind red scenes of marauders from beyond the sea rampaging around the British coastline in the last gloomy centuries before the Norman Conquest. And it is true that Britain in the Viking Age was a turbulent, violent place. This is not, however, the whole story.

The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians

The death of the Roman Empire is one of the perennial mysteries of world history. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Peter Heather proposes a stunning new solution: Centuries of imperialism turned the neighbors Rome called barbarians into an enemy capable of dismantling an Empire that had dominated their lives for so long. A leading authority on the late Roman Empire and on the barbarians, Heather relates the extraordinary story of how Europe's barbarians, transformed by centuries of contact with Rome on every possible level, eventually pulled the empire apart.

Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of An Empire

This is the story of the greatest empire the world has ever known. Simon Baker charts the rise and fall of the world's first superpower, focusing on six momentous turning points that shaped Roman history. Welcome to Rome as you've never seen it before - awesome and splendid, gritty and squalid. From the conquest of the Mediterranean beginning in the third century BC to the destruction of the Roman Empire at the hands of barbarian invaders some seven centuries later, we discover the most critical episodes in Roman history.

Victorious Century: The United Kingdom, 1800-1906

To live in 19th-century Britain was to experience an astonishing series of changes, of a kind for which there was simply no precedent. There were revolutions in transport, communication and work; cities grew vast; and scientific ideas made the intellectual landscape unrecognisable. This was an exhilarating time but also a horrifying one. In his new book, David Cannadine has created a bold, fascinating new interpretation of the British 19th century in all its energy and dynamism, darkness and vice.

Pompeii - The Life of a Roman Town

Pompeii explodes a number of myths - among them, the very date of the eruption, probably a few months later than usually thought; the hygiene of the baths which must have been hotbeds of germs; the legendary number of brothels, most likely only one; and the death count, which was probably less than ten per cent of the population. These are just a few of the strands that make up an extraordinary and involving portrait of an ancient town, its life and its continuing re-discovery, by Britain’s leading classicist.

Praetorian: The Rise and Fall of Rome's Imperial Bodyguard

Founded by Augustus around 27 BC, the elite Praetorian Guard was tasked with the protection of the emperor and his family. As the centuries unfolded, however, Praetorian soldiers served not only as protectors and enforcers but also as powerful political players. Fiercely loyal to some emperors, they vied with others and ruthlessly toppled those who displeased them, including Caligula, Nero, Pertinax, and many more. Guy de la Bédoyère provides a compelling first full narrative history of the Praetorians.

The Foundations of Western Civilization

What is Western Civilization? According to Professor Noble, it is "much more than human and political geography," encompassing myriad forms of political and institutional structures - from monarchies to participatory republics - and its own traditions of political discourse. It involves choices about who gets to participate in any given society and the ways in which societies have resolved the tension between individual self-interest and the common good.

Publisher's Summary

Long sources of mystery, imagination, and inspiration, the myths and history of the ancient Mediterranean have given rise to artistic, religious, cultural, and intellectual traditions that span the centuries. In this unique and comprehensive introduction to the region's three major civilizations, Egypt, Greece, and Rome draws a fascinating picture of the deep links between the cultures across the Mediterranean and explores the ways in which these civilizations continue to be influential to this day.

Beginning with the emergence of the earliest Egyptian civilization around 3500 BC, Charles Freeman follows the history of the Mediterranean over a span of four millennia to AD 600, beyond the fall of the Roman empire in the west to the emergence of the Byzantine empire in the east. In addition to the three great civilizations, the peoples of the Ancient Near East and other lesser-known cultures such as the Etruscans, Celts, Persians, and Phoenicians are explored. The author examines the art, architecture, philosophy, literature, and religious practices of each culture, set against its social, political, and economic background. More than an overview of the primary political or military events, Egypt, Greece, and Rome pays particular attention to the actual lives of both the everyday person and the aristocracy: here is history brought to life. Especially striking are the readable and stimulating profiles of key individuals throughout the ancient world, covering persons from Homer to Horace, the Pharaoh Akhenaten to the emperor Augustus, Alexander the Great to Julius Caesar, Jesus to Justinian, and Aristotle to Augustine.

Generously illustrated in both color and black-and-white, and drawing on the most up-to-date scholarship, Egypt, Greece and Rome is a superb introduction for anyone seeking a better understanding of the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean and their legacy to the West.

This is an ambitious yet accessible and entertaining history of the classical worlds for the general reader. It will make you want to read and learn even more about the great civilisations of antiquity.

This book was well written and performed. I'm a very slow reader and I'm a much more audio oriented person anyway as opposed to visual.

But, unfortunately, there aren't a ton of widely available academic audio books in the way of history, or that many academic texts in general in an audio format anyway.

So, when I find books like this that are available as an audiobook I'm always really excited!

This book was read and produced well and the author did a very, very good job covering and illustrating his subjects!

The scholarship was solid and open ended and approached the material from several angles. I also appreciated his bent towards leaning towards the populares.

Overall, I'm really glad I read this and that it was available!

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

Emily

Philadelphia, PA, United States

15/05/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Fact After Fact After Fact"

Any additional comments?

This is a high quality recording of a textbook being read aloud. There were no ums, ahs or annoying & distracting noises, but neither was there any enthusiasm from a monotonous narrator. Both the data and presentation style are traditionally objective and the tone seems slightly removed from the subject matter. Facts about people and events are mentioned in passing without any indication from the author that they are links in a chain to future things. I felt it was organized as things just happen, one after another. It is 32 hours of who, what, where and how, but rarely any why. There was no indication that the author felt that any fact was more important than or related to any other, so it was difficult for me to place the facts into a comprehensive historical narrative. There wasn’t enough thematic structure for me and all the information ran together to become an unappealing and overwhelming fact blob.

If you want to learn more about Egypt, Greece and Rome, I recommend that you use your credits to purchase 32 hours of the many other excellent ancient history books or courses available on audible. Audible has so many better choices!

8 of 11 people found this review helpful

Scott Hooker

Albuquerque, NM United States

10/03/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great story, mediocre reading"

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The panoramic subject is treated monumentally and was all I could wish.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite characters are those whose names we will never know but who did all the work of the societies that provide the book's subject matter.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Jim Meskimen?

Several from the Library of Congress talking book program. Robert Blumenfeld, who has done some work for Audible, comes to mind. Meskimen would be better if he would pronounce foreign proper names, in which this book abounds, with greater consistency, i.e., any consistency at all. Audible needs to adopt and enforce more specific pronunciation guidelines, such as the Library of Congress program has.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

How fiction-skewed these questions are! If this were a movie, it would have to be longer than the longest boring school film you ever sat through.

Any additional comments?

Audible should devise separate questionnaires for its fiction and nonfiction offerings.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Clay

14/09/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Nice reading, except for the pronunciation"

What did you love best about Egypt, Greece, and Rome?

A nice synoptic overview. It is read in a thoughtful and unpretentious manner, too.

What didn’t you like about Jim Meskimen’s performance?

While I like his reading style, the pronunciation is pretty abysmal.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

That's an idiotic idea.

Any additional comments?

This review form is silly

3 of 5 people found this review helpful

Jolene

09/01/18

Overall

Performance

Story

"An Engaging Historical Experience "

Freeman is a gifted writer and accomplished scholar. As an instructor of Ancient History this text will now be serving as the core text of my curriculum. Note: this audible book is not the latest edition of this text, but still an excellent historical source for those whom rely upon audio recordings to supplement their readings.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Eric

18/06/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"Best to listen chapter by chapter."

Amazing book and very comprehensive. Only issue I had is I got lost when they were in certain chapters. They spoke of one empirical rule. That person passes away and talks about another. Two chapters later they bring another concept of the ruler that you heard died 2 hours ago.

The audiobook covers a large spectrum of topics from the beginning of modern civilization. The book is very thorough, but tangible enough to listen to for hours on end.

What did you like best about this story?

I appreciated the author's approach during his chapters on Greece and early Rome.

Have you listened to any of Jim Meskimen’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to this reader before, but he did quite well. His pronunciation of specific greek words was often amiss, but I was able to catch on through out the entire book.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Thorough history of ancient world, slanted religious take.

Any additional comments?

I felt the latter Roman history became too rushed and convoluted with author's religious take on history. The author's bias against movements of faith seems evident through the whole book, which is unfortunate. This begins with the first Ancient Near-East settlements and goes through the end of the Byzantine Empire. It is difficult to understand the ancient history approach to their own beliefs due to this overarching theme.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Harriet

Boca Raton, FL, United States

11/10/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"An History of Early Europe:HowWe Became Us"

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would only recommend this book to someone who already has a good understanding of the histories of Egypt, Greece and Rome.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The writing of history has always been contentious at best. We all wear our own glasses. I read this as an antidote to Susan Bauer's history, and it seemed a reasonable correction at the beginning. While the author cited the translators he consulted sometimes, that did not seem to be applied with consistency.

How could the performance have been better?

I'm an art historian in my mid-60's, and have always continued learning in many ways. I deplore the reader's idiosyncratic and beleagured pronunciation of unfamiliar names and places.I began wincing every time he said "Pliny" or "Galla Placidia".

Did Egypt, Greece, and Rome inspire you to do anything?

We read histories for many, varied reasons. The civilizations treated in this history are remote in time and place, and seem on the surface not to matter too much these days. Alexander did not inspire me to go out and conquer the world. But I see his place in that one.

Any additional comments?

It would be instructive if your readers had speech coaching before attempting the unfamiliar. The readers you have had from Britain seem way more educated.

5 of 12 people found this review helpful

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